As I sat in the airplane heading back here to a place that has become familiar, I ask myself what makes me continue to come back….I already miss my wife and four little boys at home, but feel a need and yearning to go back and bring some happiness, and security to these little abandoned children’s lives.I still remember the feeling I had the first time I entered an orphanage, seeing the many beautiful children who had been abandoned and how my heart broke as I looked into the many faces.Please follow us this week as we try and make a difference in these children’s lives.
It’s been quite an experience. Ecuador is considered the third most corrupt country in the Western Hemisphere. Until a few years ago, it was legal to beat your wife. The tradition that goes back centuries is that a woman had to prove that she was fertile before marriage. If she was, the man was obligated to marry her. What has changed in the last few decades is that the man has forgotten his obligation. Consequently, there are thousands of orphans.The orphanages fall into mostly two categories. One type takes in any child who comes to their door, generally abandoned children and abused children. Some infants were found in dumpsters and others were found on train tracks. When the police find them, they take them to an orphanage. The State typically pays nothing for their care.The problem with this first type of orphanage is that they live in conditions that we would call horrible. However, it’s better than leaving them to die on the streets. There might be 10 children sleeping in a small room. Often their beds and mattresses are decrepit, but the children are required to make their beds every day. The floors are kept immaculate; however, since cleaning solutions are expensive and scarce, they clean the floors with gasoline which is about $1.50/ gal. The fumes are terrible.Their food ...